Why it is so Important to Know About Statutory and Mandatory Certificates ?

A ship without certificates is a dead ship. It is impossible to sail a ship in high seas without valid certificates. Also any insurance taken up by the ship owner will be null and void if any certificate is invalid and expired. I cannot say it enough, how important it is for a ship to have all valid certificates. But apart from the certificates being valid, there is another requirement that we need to fulfill. All these original certificates need to be on board at all the times. This makes it so much more important to know which all certificates a ship is required to carry on board. But are all the certificates carried on board have equal importance ? Can the absence of any of these certificate make a ship unseaworthy ? If we do not know the answers to these questions, we probably would not know the seriousness of the situation in case a certificate is expired or expiring. That is where understanding the difference between statutory and mandatory certificate is important. Difference between Statutory certificates and Mandatory certificates Statutory certificates are required by the statute. Statute means law. So these are the certificates that are required by the law. Mandatory certificates, as the name suggests are mandatory to carry on board. But doesn't that...